Don’t feel special in a Grand Suite

I had sailed before in a balcony cabin, enjoy myself throughly on the mariner. Decided to spurge on a grand suite on the voyager after reading about the wonder of suite experience.

Came back from the cruise. Was a wonderful cruise like before. However, apart from having access to the concerige lounge all day, the happy hours with red wine and fingers food was great, coffee machine was great and from having a spacious room to sleep in, I don’t really feel special or anything different from booking a balcony cabin at a far much lower pricing compared to a grand suite.

And one thing, I was feeling more suffocated at the MDR, the hard selling was bad as the waiters kept emphasising that as suite guests, we should take up this and that packages to make our experience better. We avoided going to the MDR altogether as we couldn’t really eat in peace. When we were booked as normal guests, we were left in peace to enjoy the meal, the staffs only checked in occasionally to see if everything was alright.

Reserved seating was available for the ice show only but we still need to be there super early like everyone else because it filled up fast. Seem that no one was stopping the normal guests from taking up the seats. Other shows had no reserved seating. The port we went don’t need tender boats and since we were sailing in Asia, no one liked sun bathing, there were plenty of seats around the pool which was empty. So having reserved sun deck seat was of no use.

For our next cruise for the quantum of the sea which will docked in Singapore next year end, we are considering whether to just go with the balcony or pay more than double for the grand suite again. We like the happy hour service provide in the suite lounge but is it worth paying double? Any advise?

Thanks

We like the happy hour service provide in the suite lounge but is it worth paying double?

Sounds like for you, the answer is no. BTW, the hard selling can happen at any time regardless of cabin category you are in.

welp, we book suites primarily for the Lounge and cocktail hour. we don't need nor want reserved seating for shows, and on Liberty we actually had a 'private' ice show just for suites and Pinnacle. mr spook is a red head and I am a ghost with the skin cancer gene so sun bathing is not an option for us. never once felt pressured/bothered to get a package of any sort on board.

so for us, yes paying for a suite is worth it. but if all you care about is the drinks and coffee.. just Get a drink package with your balcony.

All our grand suite cruises did not have these issues , did grand suites in sister ship navigator 3 times , liberty twice and brilliance once. We did ice shows many times and just got there 15 mins before and never had issue, also always had reserved sitting area for all the shows. Since all but one of our cruises were Caribbean reserved pool seats are great. Also had never had issue in mdr .

The suite experience on Quantum should be quite a bit different than it was on Voyager.

I'd give it another shot

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Suite privileges are not worth it to some people. If you don't feel you got your "money's worth" then I would recommend that you not do it again. No one wants to feel that they overpaid for what they got.

You did not mention, what I consider to be, 2 of the best suite perks - private escort disembarkation and in-suite dining from the MDR menu. Did you take advantage of either of these ? If you did and still don't think you got your money's worth then I definitely think that the "sweet life" is not something that is a value for you.

Not done a cruise in Asia and this may have a bearing on our different experiences. My cruises have been from Europe and US.

I am surprised that there wasn't reserved seating in the theatre. There usually is so perhaps something odd about the sailing you were on.

Reserved seating in ice show is a great perk. It does fill up but perhaps we have been lucky in always finding seats.

Perhaps it's because I don't look the type but people never pester me in the dinning room. If they did, I would politely ask them not to. I have a feeling that sales people focus on some people more than others.

I would agree that the suite experience is over-hyped on message boards. It is much better on some ships like Oasis class than others. I have stayed in several suites and it has always been for special celebrations. The main benefit has been the comfort of the suite itself. We didn't really expect much else although the special invites, the reserved seating etc. made it special for us.

I had sailed before in a balcony cabin, enjoy myself throughly on the mariner. Decided to spurge on a grand suite on the voyager after reading about the wonder of suite experience.

 

We like the happy hour service provide in the suite lounge but is it worth paying double? Any advise?

 

Thanks

Not quite sure the point of your post? How could any of the rest of us possibly determine or advise YOU whether YOU paying nearly double the amount of money for a suite would be worth the money to YOU?? You might as well ask us if we think it's worth the extra money to YOU to buy a Maserati instead of a Chevy. No one else can answer that question for you. To a person with disposable income exceeding $1/4 million dollars a year...perhaps. To someone only making $20K a year, probably not. Of course, someone who makes $1/4 million a year "probably" would not be sailing on RC to begin with. :) Regards.

Personally I book suites for the better room, especially the bathroom. If you didn't feel like the GS was doing it for you perhaps the JS might work? You still get a bigger bathroom, and the cost is less.

We have been on Voyager 3 times in a grand suite (around Australia/Pacific/NZ) and each time has been great.

As well as the benefits you have mentioned, we have

- been invited to tours of the bridge, galley, theatre

- had lunches with the officers (with samples from all of the specialty restaurants)

- received special treats delivered to our room on sea days

- had dinner at the captains table.

(not for all of the cruises)

There has been some discussions on other forums about different priorities for Asia based cruises - particularly the high rollers. I don't know but perhaps that has impacted on your experience.

Before I get "flamed" about the reference to income, I'm only trying to point out that "worth" (cost) is a relative term and is usually judged in the context of what an individual can "afford". As the amount of one's income increases, the "cost" of any particular cruise expense, or any other expense, decreases. And oftentimes people judge the "worth" of something in terms of what percentage of their income that particular cost represented (and how much they can "afford").

If a cruise was "crappy", but was also a "throw away expense" for them, then they'll just "shrug it off" and look forward to the next cruise. However, if the cruise cost represented a "significant percentage" of their yearly income, and the cruise turned out to be "crappy", then it really "stings". Regards to all.

I had sailed before in a balcony cabin, enjoy myself throughly on the mariner. Decided to spurge on a grand suite on the voyager after reading about the wonder of suite experience.

 

Came back from the cruise. Was a wonderful cruise like before. However, apart from having access to the concerige lounge all day, the happy hours with red wine and fingers food was great, coffee machine was great and from having a spacious room to sleep in, I don’t really feel special or anything different from booking a balcony cabin at a far much lower pricing compared to a grand suite.

 

And one thing, I was feeling more suffocated at the MDR, the hard selling was bad as the waiters kept emphasising that as suite guests, we should take up this and that packages to make our experience better. We avoided going to the MDR altogether as we couldn’t really eat in peace. When we were booked as normal guests, we were left in peace to enjoy the meal, the staffs only checked in occasionally to see if everything was alright.

 

Reserved seating was available for the ice show only but we still need to be there super early like everyone else because it filled up fast. Seem that no one was stopping the normal guests from taking up the seats. Other shows had no reserved seating. The port we went don’t need tender boats and since we were sailing in Asia, no one liked sun bathing, there were plenty of seats around the pool which was empty. So having reserved sun deck seat was of no use.

 

For our next cruise for the quantum of the sea which will docked in Singapore next year end, we are considering whether to just go with the balcony or pay more than double for the grand suite again. We like the happy hour service provide in the suite lounge but is it worth paying double? Any advise?

 

Thanks

IMO the larger suite is worth it. We cannot enjoy being stuffed into a small balcony cabin. Especially if storage is lacking- That is a great benefit of a suite. Having been on the Quantum, you will have a special restaurant for grand suite and above guests and many perks not available on the older smaller ships.

Give the suite benefits another try.

Before I get "flamed" about the reference to income, I'm only trying to point out that "worth" (cost) is a relative term and is usually judged in the context of what an individual can "afford". As the amount of one's income increases, the "cost" of any particular cruise expense, or any other expense, decreases. And oftentimes people judge the "worth" of something in terms of what percentage of their income that particular cost represented (and how much they can "afford").

 

If a cruise was "crappy", but was also a "throw away expense" for them, then they'll just "shrug it off" and look forward to the next cruise. However, if the cruise cost represented a "significant percentage" of their yearly income, and the cruise turned out to be "crappy", then it really "stings". Regards to all.

Oh. Some people save all they can in their day to day lives to afford a luxury experience when they travel. Others spend their money every week on takeaway food, coffee, entertainment, expensive cars, big TVs, hobbies etc.

Each to their own without judgement in my opinion.

Oh. Some people save all they can in their day to day lives to afford a luxury experience when they travel. Others spend their money every week on takeaway food, coffee, entertainment, expensive cars, big TVs, hobbies etc.

 

Each to their own without judgement in my opinion.

Totally agree , I have had people say they would not book suites but they own two homes, we all spend our money like we want, having a new car is not important to me , but cruising in a suite is.

Totally agree , I have had people say they would not book suites but they own two homes, we all spend our money like we want, having a new car is not important to me , but cruising in a suite is.

GeorgeC and LucyMorgan - You both make my point, precisely. None of us could possibly advise some total stranger (like the original poster) as to whether or not the extra money/cost for a suite is "worth it" or not. Regards.

We will be testing the suite life out in October for the first time. Kind of hoping that we don't care for it, would save a lot of money that way:halo:

Not sure why you had problems with ice show reserved seating. Have always found the area to be roped off with an attendant checking Seapass cards. It is opened up to general seating about 10 minutes before show time.

Same way with the theater. First several rows of the balcony in the center roped off, and same procedure as ice show.Did you ask concierge?

Same way with room service and disembarkment procedure - great suite perks! Also free luggage valet on ships/ports where available.

Thank you for your post because I cannot wait to show it to my DH. We usually book OVB and once in a while a JS, but my DH really wants a GS or OS and I keep telling him I’d rather go on more cruises than spend that kind of money. We are fortunate that we have the means for any cabin, but I am just tooo practical....and I guess, frugal:) I just hope your post will help him to change his mind and just be practical like me and forget about the suites! We are Diamond members so we get to go to the cocktail lounge, which is more than fine since I don’t drink.

Happy cruising everyone!

But the issue was that the person didn’t feel special. The newer ships have many enhanced programs for suite guests. You do feel special and are treated differently.

You do feel special and are treated differently.

That's about as subjective as the food.

OP, I don't understand why you think you are supposed to feel special staying in a GS?

What were they trying to sell you in the dining room?

When we were booked as normal guests, we were left in peace to enjoy the meal

Seem that no one was stopping the normal guests from taking up the seats.

and to think, all this time I had incorrectly thought i was special ;p;p

That's about as subjective as the food.

not subjective but facts. on the newer ships you have a private dining room and lounge. The suite lounge is a vast improvement over the diamond lounge. you get priority seating at any show, no reservations necessary You get priority embarkation and wiz off the ship also. If tenders are required, priority again. the actual suite is much larger and more amenities The bathrooms are like a true master bathroom. upgraded amenities in your suite including an upgraded room service menu You need to look at your ship to get the full picture as the newer the ship the more perks available

if you can afford it do it!

not subjective but facts.

I didn't realize one could make how one feels factual.